


wishful thoughts and sudden smiles

by sojinyul



Category: Philippine Showbiz RPF
Genre: #DarLonaIsReal, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, DarLona, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Humor, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-16
Updated: 2016-07-16
Packaged: 2018-07-24 09:36:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7503291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sojinyul/pseuds/sojinyul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ylona never thought apologizing would be this hard. It comes with dreadful adventures and a little bit of embarrassing moments and awkwardness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	wishful thoughts and sudden smiles

**Author's Note:**

> \- The events here are purely fictional. Enjoy reading!  
> \- If you're not a DarLona shipper, close this tab now. :)

 

 

 

Ylona has just finished her schedule for today and thanked God for today’s work. It is non-stop work for her since Sunday and finally she’s getting a decent rest. On the way home, she put her earphones in and tried to have a quick nap. Her fatigue didn’t fail her, though.

 

It was a long ride home since the traffic was too heavy though ABS-CBN is only an hour away. Thanks to the strong rains, her weariness has reached its dangerous levels. When she got home, she walked as though she’s a living dead albeit carefully. She doesn’t want anyone to wake up.

 

Ylona plops on her bed lifelessly and readies herself to sleep. Somehow, though she’s really tired, she can’t get herself to sleep. She tries again by making her lids heavier, but she feels like something’s keeping her from falling asleep. Annoyed, she grabs her bad then fishes out her phone to check on few of her social media accounts.

 

She tweeted first, “ _Tired, but can’t sleep :(_ ” then went to her Instagram account. She liked the posts from her close friends, idols and families. She also liked some fan arts that was tagged to her. It’s her routine when she can’t fall asleep and she’s thankful it’s effective as her consciousness is slowly slipping away…

 

However, before she can go to dreamland, she refreshes her Instagram timeline one last time and a post from _someone_ is enough to make her charging energy for tomorrow get up from her rather tired body.

 ** _darrenespanto1_** _Going home_ ❤

Oh. My. Gosh.

 

Ylona felt her hands shake at the sudden post. She checks on her calendar to confirm.

 

_He is supposed to come back on the last week of October, JK mentioned that. But why is he two weeks early?_

 

Yup, she took a note of that (of course, secretly. She’d be dead if her on-screen partner knew) and made a countdown for Darren’s homecoming. How sweet of her.

 

She admits, she misses him so much. After Darren left for Canada when they were on bad terms, they never talked at all. Was her reaction to his confession that bad he actually held a deep grudge on her? She was shocked, yes, but she was willing to tell him to wait for more years before he could pursue her (if they’re taking that stage.) She was hurt when Darren jumped into conclusions that fast when she was in the middle of taking his confession in her mind. She wanted to text or call him but she was too afraid she’d be ignored. Thus, she focused on doing her mall shows and album tours, so she had the chance to forget about Darren for a while.

 

But now he’s coming home again, Ylona’s memory flashes back to three months ago when he confessed his feelings for her and hung his phone up when he thought she’s going to drift away from him. She felt her heart beat so fast it’s starting to get hurt.

 

It’s now her chance, though, to tell him that he got the wrong idea and she’s not going to throw away their friendship just because of a confession. She needs to make a plan. After a while of brainstorming, she dials JK.

 

_(“Hey dude! ‘Sup? Bakit di ka pa natutulog?”)_

 

“Bro,” she sighs. “I need help. Please.”

 

_(“Oh, you sound nervous. What happened?”)_

 

“Darren’s coming home. C-can you ask him when exactly?”

 

 _(“You actually called me for that? Why don’t you ask him directly?”)_ She hears him munching chips. She snorts.

 

“You know what happened! At isa pa, it’s not that easy to talk to him, especially when he left for a vacation while we were on bad terms. We didn’t even communicate for three months, if I may add.”

 

_(“Ikaw kasi, eh!”)_

 

“It wasn’t my fault I was shocked.”

 

_(“Just kidding! Sige, sige, I’ll ask him. Pero wait, bakit nga pala? Are you going to kidnap him?”)_

 

“Hoy, Juan Karlos! I’m not that kind of person! As for your question why, well, I’m coming up with a plan. I’m going to the airport.”

 

JK laughed too loud as if for mockery. _(“You, Ylona Jade Garcia, are going to be the mighty Darren Espanto’s loud fangirl for one day? Tell me, am I still living, dear?”)_

 

Ylona felt her blood literally reached it boiling point. “Cut the crap, Juan Karlos Labajo! I’m not gonna be a fan of Darren for a day,” she pouts. “I want to surprise him…?”

 

JK snorts. _(“You know, if I were Darren, you’d be the last person I wanted to see after my arrival. Baka mapabalik ako ng Canada nang ‘di oras.”)_

 

“Grr. Wala kang kwenta kausap. Bye, Juan Karlos!”

 

_(“Wait! Just kidding for the nth time. Sige, I’ll support you sa plano mo. I’ll just text you his flight details. Hays, pasalamat ka kaibigan mo ‘ko.”)_

 

“Oo naman. Thank you, JK,” she says with a hint of sarcasm. “Bye, I’m gonna hang up. Good night.”

 

_(“Good night, Darren’s wifey! Yiee!”)_

 

“Ewan ko sa’yo! Bye na talaga.” Ylona then ends the call.

 

She clasps her hands to pray. She prays for a good health and safety of her loved ones, and prays for the success of her plan. Few moments later, she finally drifts off to sleep.

 

 

 

 

As per Ylona’s source (aka Juan Karlos), Darren’s going to arrive at 11:15 in the evening. She was skeptical at first as it was too late, but she understands since a morning arrival would make fans occupy the whole arrival area. She doesn’t even know why she’ll do this, but she hopes Darren would appreciate her effort at least.

 

She’s thankful her parents supported her plan, as they knew about what happened and her eagerness to reconcile with Darren completed the approval. Ylona’s father went with her for her safety and her mother advised her to use a disguise. She wore leggings and a hoodie too big for her size. She thought this would be good for a disguise, but she’s starting to get uncomfortable as it’s unusually humid tonight, too humid for an October weather. Though, now is not the time to complain.

 

Ylona’s father gestures her to head to the arrival area which she did. She walks to the place, and it surprised her that there are a lot of fans waiting outside.

 

_Talk about fame. This guy sure has the biggest fan base. Look at that bunch of fans waiting for him in the middle of the night._

 

She blends in with the fans and the waiting game begins.

 

 

 

It’s already quarter to eleven, her watch says. She’s thankful to her week-long vacation as it really helped her to reserve a lot of energy for this day. She’s usually an impatient person, but waiting for a ‘friend’ isn’t that bad, right?

 

It makes her laugh when some of Darren’s fans scream at everyone who gets out of the lobby. Crazy fans, indeed. They’re just like her fans, much crazier though.

 

 

The time strikes 11:15 and beads of sweat are starting to pool on Ylona’s forehead. She feels like getting short of breath out of nervousness. She fans her face with her hands but it doesn’t help at all. She mentally hits Darren on his head. How could someone, specifically a friend, make her nervous like this? She doesn’t even feel this when she’s waiting to meet up with Bailey.

 

Ylona, along with the fans, waited for a fair-heighted boy with a chicken hair to come out of the lobby. She messaged her father to assure him Darren’s getting out soon. She patiently waited again until someone from the horde of fans announced that Darren has come out of the plane. The fans who were sitting down earlier stand up and scream as if there’s no tomorrow. Ylona tries her best to get through the huge crowd going to the front so she can easily chase the guy. (Take note, she just wanted to apologize. Best Friend Award should be given to her by the biggest award-giving bodies in the country.)

 

Finally, after an hour and a half-long wait, Darren and his team exits the lobby. Ylona swears the screams are getting louder by each second. She is starting to get crushed by chaotic fans so she ejects herself from the flock of human forms of megaphones.

 

She readies herself for the chase. One, two, three, go.

 

Darren and team are heading to the car provided and Ylona chases them to catch up with the distance. Thanks to her gymnastic legs she can pace up faster than his solid fans and luckily she’s already way ahead of them.

 

Sadly, her luck ends there.

 

Ylona is getting closer to the team then shouted, “Darren, wait!” You know what happened next?

 

 

She tripped. Right in front of Darren Espanto.

 

_OH. MY. GOD._

 

The fans’ screams and screeches that were too loud earlier suddenly died, and their attention is not on Darren anymore but on her already. She feels like the whole place has turned into a ghost town and she swears right in that moment she wants the ground to swallow her whole.

 

What if they found out about her? What would they say? If they discovered her and what happened to her, she’d be in a big trouble. Social media is like a hell on earth and she doesn’t want to experience the greater depths of it especially she’s a well-known personality. _I’m going to die. Yes, this is the end of me,_ she thought. Her mind is now full of embarrassment and would-be headlines about her.

 

_Dishonor on you, dishonor on your cow. Way to go, Ylona Garcia!_

 

“Are you okay?” A not-so-deep voice asks thick with worry.

 

Ylona knows it’s Darren. His angelic voice is enough to make a little bit of embarrassment go away. But she still feels like she dishonored the whole Garcia family and her fans.

 

She nods, facing down. Is she going to confront Darren? Does she even want to face him after this happened? Is she still going to wait for the ground to swallow her?

 

Darren offers his hand, “No, you must be hurt.”

 

_No, no, don’t accept his offer and stand up on your own, idiot._

 

But she can’t just reject him. He was being a gentleman and it would be rude if she refused. Sighing, she takes his hand.

 

Her thoughts on face masks (the trendy ones) was quite bad before, but it changed when she wore one earlier to hide her identity. At least Darren won’t suspect her easily.

 

She keeps her face down and dusts off her clothes, then Darren speaks up again. “Are you hurt? We can take you to the clinic.”

 

Ylona shakes her head in panic. She was about to run but Darren catches her forearm before she could even have a few steps.

 

“Wait! You can’t just run when we’re still not sure you’re not really hurt! And,” she bites her lip when Darren looks closer to her hand. “Wait. Y-Ylona?”

 

It’s like the whole world fell silent. She just wants to melt down. But she couldn’t hide anymore. She’s already busted.

 

She unhooks her mask and smiles. “Yeah.”

 

Darren looks at her with shock, then at his fans, then back to her. She’s not sure whether his reaction is good or bad, but she’s willing to take what she can get. After all, she wanted this to happen.

 

”W-what,” Darren gulps. “Are you d-doing here?”

 

She winces. “I… I actually don’t know …?”

 

Darren’s expression turned from confusion to amused one. He chuckled, “You don’t know why you’re here? What, you teleported? Three months of not talking to you had its disadvantages pala. Didn’t know you gained a super power now.”

 

Ylona feels a hot rush of blood creeping in her face. Her embarrassment meter hits its limit. _Ugh, make a reason, idiot!_

 

“W-well! I’m here to … to …”

 

“You’re here to what? Spill it out already, Ylona Jade!”

 

“I’m here to apologize, okay!” She faces down again to hide her increasing blush. Thankfully, the fans were told to go home, she could say sorry without them eavesdropping.

 

Ylona doesn’t see it, but Darren looks very amused. “Apologize for what? It’s not like you killed someone from the crowd earlier to make your way here.”

 

“Hey! It’s not like that,” she scratches her head. “I actually wanted to apologize for the misunderstood reaction from me when you … confessed …?”

 

Darren laugh out loud, the laugh she longed to hear again. “You made your way here, late at night, and even embarrassed yourself for such a small thing? Iba ka, Ylona Jade.”

 

Her heartbeat’s rapidly increasing like it’s going to rip her chest out. How can he tell so easily that it was a small thing? She swallowed her pride for this.

 

“That was not a small thing!” She bursts out. “You don’t know how much courage I gathered to talk to you, then only lose it just because I was too afraid you’re going to ignore my calls and texts. You don’t know how that thing made me sleepless because I didn’t want anyone close to me hate me for being insensitive,” she sobs hard that each sob chokes her. “Y-you don’t know how many drafts of messages I made to tell you that I was fine with your confession, t-that nothing will change. It might be a small thing for you, but it was a big deal for me!”

 

Silence falls between them. She then noticed it’s only the two of them around. Darren’s team is on the car already, and not a single fan stayed.

 

Darren hugs her tightly which made her cry even more. “I’m sorry for thinking like that,” he soothes her back. “Shouldn’t I be the one to apologize? I jumped into conclusions without considering your thoughts. I was just afraid the friendship we built was going to crumble because of my feelings. Sorry for being a coward, Ylona Jade. I was actually the one who threw away our friendship. Sorry. Sorry ulit.

 

Ylona nods and she felt a huge lump is finally out of her system. She breaks the hug. “Do you still like me?”

 

Darren blushes. “Well,” he shrugs. “I guess feelings are still here.”

 

She wipes her tears with her hoodies’ cuffs. “Thanks. Please don’t think I’m rejecting you. We still have a long road to take. Who knows ...”

 

He snorts. “As if naming liligawan kita? Diba, sabi mo sa kanta mo, ‘wag kang assuming’? What happened to your advice?”

 

Uh oh. Strike two!

 

“S-sorry! I thought—”

 

“Pero payag ka?”

 

She nods slowly. Darren takes her hands and squeezes it. “Okay, I’ll wait for you. We’re still kids, after all.”

 

“Hm. Dadaan ka muna sa’kin, bata.”

 

Both of them turns around to the source of the voice. It was Peter, Ylona’s dad.

 

“T-Tito Peter!” Darren shakes at the sight of her father. She’s too amused to see the panic on his face.

 

“Dad,” she hooks her arms on her father’s. “Sorry, it took long.”

 

“That was very gentlemanly, Darren. You’re not rushing things. I actually like you for my daughter.” Peter pats Darren’s arm.

 

“Dad! You’re too pushy! We’re still kids, ha!”

 

Peter’s brow arched. “I thought he’s going to wait? Why do you think he’s already asking your hand for marriage?”

 

“Dad! Let’s go home na nga!” She pouts. She then turns to Darren who was still blushing like mad. “Text me when you’re home na, ha? You must be very tired. See you tomorrow!”

 

Darren nods. “See ya, Ylona Jade. Good night po, Tito Peter. Thank you po for coming here though I know kinulit ka lang po ni Ylona.”

 

“It’s fine, young man. We actually supported her. She’s really eager to patch things up with you.” Peter smiles.

 

Ylona almost wants to laugh at Darren’s never-ending blushing, but she’ll save that for later.

 

“I’m tired,” she declares. “Let’s call it a day. Good night, Darren. Bye!”

 

“Bye!” Darren waves at them then hops in the car. They waited for his car to drive away before going back to their own.

 

 

 

“What happened exactly?” Peter breaks the silence as he opens the door for his daughter.

 

“I’m too embarrassed to tell, Dad,” Ylona slouches and closes her eyes after fastening her seatbelt. “Just wait for the news to come out tomorrow, if there would be any.”

 

“Knowing you, you did something mischievous, ano?”

 

She chuckles. “Of course, I’m not Ylona Garcia if I didn’t do something embarrassing.”

 

Her dad drives away and she tries to take a fast nap. That was one hell of an adventure but her wishful thoughts and Darren’s sudden smiles are enough to make her fall asleep quick.

**Author's Note:**

> \- Hi! Thanks for reading! If you're a DarLona shipper or a solid fan of either of them, then let's be friends!  
> \- This is actually the second part of my two-shot fic, but I chose to post this first because I'm still finding a way to end the first part without investing too much on Darren's emotional state after the confession. (I was so disgusted with myself when I wrote Darren dealing with his anxiety more than solving his conflict with Ylona. Too far from the AU I wanted). Please give me time to rewrite that, then I'll post it :)  
> \- The title is from the lyrics of Darren's song, Stuck.  
> \- If you have any questions about this fic, you can mention me at [@DLfanfics](http://twitter.com/DLfanfics). ;)  
> \- Sorry if it's too cheesy. Binagay ko kasi sa age nila hihi


End file.
